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Hue Island Hoys of the Thirteenth pEngineers Hail The Sun as aWelcome Visitor In FranceDearannonOld Friend Editor:—As theare playing “home, sweetlomo and the mind wanders back tohe dear old town and so we are going o try and get a few lines to thank mu for the paper you have been send-ng to us and it makes mighty fine ending, too, I can tell you.Of all the Blue Island boys in our Engineering Corps we are enjoying he best of health and getting fat, in 'act they are “double timing” the soys to take off the surplus weight, especially Ralph Sullivan and “Shady” Shaw; no one would ever know them since they landed in France.We had a very fine trip over and ilso in touring France “a la Box Car,” several stops we have made we seen the country on both sides. One place we were introduced to Mr. Pick Shovel and Bro. Wheel-Barrow and we can prove that they were bum friends by the callouses on our hands.But now we are in the most interesting part of the country, the “Boche Bertha’s,” the French 75’s and the U. S. Artillery are playing all the latest airs and they sound real nicewhen the shells and noise keep us hard working boys awake all night.We have seen several aeroplanes fall by the U. S. boy’s good shooting with their anti air craft guns. One fell in flames and the other one landed in fairly good condition, but on a clear day they sound just like bees in the air and to see them shooting shrapnel and high explosive shells and to see the aviators dive and duck to escape being brought down is one sight no man will ever forget.We received a letter from C. O. Williams in the 13th Engineers todayand they are all well and working every day. Having fine “eats” here —all we want and plenty of it,—allththbtthC01BClatlrLlevoterlthat worries us is that we don’t get enough mail from the states to satisfy, for a letter every day would please us more. Then again we have a good job getting $33.00 a month as a private, also three squares a day and a bed but all we hope now is that some “boche” don’t shoot us off thepay roll.The man that called this country “Sunny France” must have looked at the moon at midnight, for as far as we have been there has been plenty of sticky oozy mud, rain and snow, and all this combined makes a wonderful patch knee deep and is worse than the clay hills in Missouri.We have plenty of good wine and beer to drink, in fact water is on the Frenchman’s black list, but that is all we get. Wine costs about 25c (U. S.) a quart, and beer about 10c a quart. All the poor women are working night and day to keep the boys supplied. Well, Friend Editor, our candle is just about gone and this j must close. So hoping this finds all enjoying the best of health with regards to all our friends, we remainBlue Island Boys of the 21st Engineers, Co. E.—Signed: H. E. Shaw, R. B. Sullivan, D. M. Fleming, John E. Abbott, F. J. Ludwig, Pat McCoy,Fred Dougherty, Leo Nelson.
Newspaper Details
Blue Island Sun
Blue Island, Illinois, US
Fri, Apr 05, 1918
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Mary E.
MN, USA 14 Dec 2021
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